Truckers Could Stay Home from Nation's Biggest Port Complex

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Truck drivers who haul goods from the nation's busiest port complex in Los Angeles and Long Beach could stay home this week in a long-running labor dispute.

Officials say the results of a weekend vote from Teamsters are set to be revealed Monday and could lead to a partial work stoppage at the ports.

About 16,000 drivers work at the ports, most of them independent contractors for trucking companies.

The truckers say they face shrinking wages and want to become employees of the trucking companies, which they say would mean better wages and workplace protections.

The trucking companies say the timing of the move is terrible with the ports still recovering from a dockworkers strike.

Port representatives say it's too soon to say what effect a work stoppage would have on business.

(Story by: The Associated Press)